I am at peace.

If you are one of those people who hate sitting through movies or other cultural events where people:

• leave their cell phones on and text/answer them when they ring
• bring small children when it's not appropriate
• talk loudly throughout
  
• yell at the screen when things go wrong
• kick the back of your chair/let their kids kick the back of your chair
  
• crunch popcorn loudly/make a lot of noise with their candy packaging
• applaud the screen
• leave before the credits are over
  

I think I might have an answer for you. Turns out you need to hang around with more public radio listeners.

Last night daltonboy and I attended "This American Life Live," which really was a delightful program. It was broadcast via satellite from New York, to movie theaters across the nation. Our theater was not packed, but there were probably fifty to seventy-five people there, which was a good showing for Utah County, I suppose.

I heard nary a cell phone go off. Before the show started, people talked quietly. When it started, they stopped talking. The audio wasn't working at first. One guy called out, "Audio!" and was immediately shunned by the rest of us. Then we sat quietly, while another guy ran out to inform theater staff. When he came back, I heard several people thank him quietly. Then we all sat quietly until the audio came on. There were no small children in the audience. No one kicked the back of my chair, but that may have been because I selected my favorite seat, in front of the middle aisle, so no one was sitting behind me. When Ira Glass started to read all the acknowledgments and credits, no one moved. (Okay, one guy moved. He stood up. I think it was the same guy we had to shun earlier. Too late, he realized his mistake and stood there, frozen, through the remainder of the program.) They actually listened--until the very end.

So yeah. If I didn't love public radio before, I certainly love it now. Those were my kind of people. Also, I was very happy I pledged in the last fund drive, because I was spared the guilt felt by those non-pledgers who are downloading podcasts. They received a slight (and tasteful) chastisement by an audience member during the Q&A session. Incidentally, did you know that "This American Life" is the most downloaded podcast in America? And I was part of it before I even knew it was popular!! The superiority I felt could hardly be matched by a Prius driver.

Sadly, I doubt the same crowd will be in attendance at tonight's "Iron Man" showing.